The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
‘This is a great opportunity’
City set to create more incubator spaces for small businesses at historic site
“We get a lot of people inquiring because it’s a popular location now.”
Joseph Samolis, Planning, Conservation & Development Director
MIDDLETOWN — Incubator space for four new tenants will be built in the city’s North End, following unanimous approval of a measure by the Common Council.
City officials have approved a measure to hire Brown and Wimler to construct the additional incubator spaces at the historical Johnson Street R.M Keating Industrial Park.
Common Council members unanimously approved the resolution earlier this month.
Originally built between 1896-97 for the Keating Wheel Co, a bicycle factory, the former Remington Rand typewriter company complex at 180 Johnson St. also has been home to an automobile manufacturer and, later, during the Cold War, a missile parts manufacturer.
After falling into disrepair, the complex transferred to the city through tax foreclosure.
Fledgling small businesses looking to develop a clientele can apply to relocate to the space, according to Planning, Conservation & Development Director Joseph Samolis. Leases run for five years with the option of renewing for another five, he said.
“Depending on how much a business is going to invest in the space, they may need a longer-term contract in order to
secure financing for the build-out cost,” he said.
Over time, the hope is these entities move somewhere else in town, occupy a larger space and hire a larger workforce, the planning director said. “The reason why we offer reduced rents is so they can focus on developing their business as opposed to worrying about paying market-rate rent,” he said.
The goal is to help entrepreneurs move on to owning a storefront on their own, he said.
In comparison to other industrial and commercial sites, these spaces run about $2 less per square foot, Samolis said. The spaces in the Keating building range between 1,000 up to close to 10,000 square feet, he said. Small businesses that employ fewer than 50 people are eligible.
The former factory began hosting small businesses in June 2013. A zoning change was approved in November 2019 to attract brewpubs and breweries to set up there.
In late 2016, the council passed an ordinance renaming the Remington Rand building the Robert M. Keating Historical Enterprise Park.
The location truly incubates the ventures of budding entrepreneurs so they can eventually turn into a business that is “productive and brings substantial revenue so they can expand and eventually grow to a new place somewhere in Middletown,” Samolis said.
Those who have achieved success there include Greenskies Renewable Energy, which moved to downtown Middletown and has now consolidated its offices in Wallingford, Samolis said.
Business slowed dramatically for small entrepreneurs as the coronavirus pandemic dragged on. “With COVID, things took a step back. A lot of them are still working on building up their clientele,” Samolis said. “It’s been hard the last year and change.”
The city will help businesses ready to make the move whether they decide to stay in the city or not, the planning director said.
Samolis and other officials also work with the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce, which has several small businessorientated programs, such as the Side Street to Main Street initiative, which supports minorities looking to venture into business, to find interested tenants.
“We get a lot of people inquiring because it’s a popular location now. The businesses down there that have established themselves spread by work this is a great opportunity,” he said.
Presently, the facility hosts close to 20 tenants, including the Whey Station (food truck), Spoke & Spy Cider, Modern Self Defense Center, Crossfit Dragon City, Forest City Brewing, Stubborn Beauty Brewing, Good Vibes Kettle Corn and Fat City Custom.
The Keating complex is self-sufficient, the planning director said.
“Even with the city reducing rents there, the building itself doesn’t rely on tax dollars. The money generated in terms of the leases with the tenants goes back into the building so we can continue to renovate the space so that tenants can come in and set up their business,” he said.
So far, six business owners are interested in opening at the Keating factory, with four seriously committing verbally, Samolis said.
He expects the council to authorize leases over the next few months, at which time construction will resume. They should be ready for occupation over the next month to six weeks, Samolis said.
“They’ll build the shell with just basic utilities,” he said. “Tenants fill the space to their needs.”
For information, visit middletownct.gov or call 860-638-4840.
MIDDLETOWN — February is moving right along in Middlesex County and the chamber continues to be on the move.
Another busy week for the chamber calendar features a number of important events and meetings. The chamber’s Legislative Committee kicks off its annual leadership series with an important event Tuesday morning featuring new Speaker of the House Matt Ritter.
At this special meeting, Speaker Ritter will visit with chamber members to discuss the ongoing legislative session. The chamber’s Board of Directors and Legislative Committee will have the opportunity to discuss some important issues on our 2021 public policy agenda. This event is a follow-up to our very successful 2021 Legislative Breakfast, featuring the Middlesex County Legislative Delegation, which was held in late January.
I would like to once again thank Updike, Kelly & Spellacy for sponsoring, and Speaker Ritter for visiting with us at this critical time for the business community in Middlesex County.
Later Tuesday morning, our Human Resources Committee will host an important workshop, “SelfAwareness & Adaptability.” This session is presented by Maureen Ross Gemme, CEO of the Emerge Leadership Academy. Participants will learn best practices for improving relationships at work by exploring issues, such as the individual personality, the generation gap, and much more.
Our Human Resources Committee continues to do great work during this very important time, and we look forward to another informative session Tuesday morning.
I now turn the column to a sad note, acknowledging the passing of two distinguished gentlemen who made a major impact in our community. Donald M. “Don” Russell was a longtime coach and director of athletics at Wesleyan University. He was also a community servant in Middletown, where he served as a member of the Board of Education, Common Council, Police Commission, Fire Commission and much more.
He was also a great supporter of our chamber, and, most importantly to me, a friend. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife of 38 years, Joyce, and his entire family and friends at this difficult time. He will be missed.
We also mourn the loss of Leander “Lee” Crete, a man who served our nation with honor in the U.S. Army, and the business community as owner and operator of Crele Construction Corp. Lee was a strong member and a great supporter of our chamber for many years, most notably through our annual golf tournament. He was also a proud member of the Elks Lodge 771.
Our thoughts and prayers are also with his wife, Pauline, his family, and his vast network of friends and colleagues at this difficult time.
Finally, we mourn the loss of Timothy J. Gionfriddo, who recently passed at the far too young age of 35. Our thoughts are with Tim’s parents and stepparents, Linda Rammler and Mark Partin, and Paul and Pam Gionfriddo. Paul is the former mayor of Middletown, who, in recent years has served as president and CEO of Mental Health America.
In addition to his parents and stepparents, our thoughts are with all of Tim’s friends and supporters at this very difficult time. May his memory provide them with comfort and relief in the days ahead.
With respect to chamber divisions and committees, this week features meetings of our Arrigoni Bridge and Downtown Middletown Construction Workgroup, Human Resource Steering Committee, our Strategic Planning Committee, Killingworth Division, Recovery Employment Program Steering Committee, Legislative Committee, and Affordable Housing Committee.
In addition to all of these meetings, our Board of Directors will meet Thursday afternoon to welcome guest speaker, Commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development, David Lehman. Our chamber has worked very closely with Commissioner Lehman and his team throughout this COVID-19 crisis, and I thank him not only for visiting with our board on Thursday, but for his outstanding leadership throughout this very difficult stretch. We look forward to a productive meeting.
On the restaurant front, I want to take a quick moment to once again preview this year’s Taste of Middlesex County, brought to you by Comcast Business, which begins this week throughout our region. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the chamber team has reinvented Taste of Middlesex County to comply with all safety guidelines and keep all of its participants safe.
We understand that this has been a tough stretch for the restaurant community, so we are running two tasty restaurant weeks this year, this week and June 21 to 27. Please make sure to visit the Taste of Middlesex County tab on the chamber website for all of the information on participating restaurants and their specially created menus for Restaurant Week.
As of Friday, participating restaurants include: El Pulpo & Tapas Bar, Eli Cannons Tap Room, Spread Cheese Co. in Middletown, Fire at the Ridge & Ridgeside Tavern and 1741 Pub & Grill in Middlefield, Horseshoe Tavern in Durham, Scotch Plains Tavern in Essex, and Water's Edge Resort & Spa in Westbrook. I would like to thank our participating restaurants for joining this important initiative, and Comcast Business for sponsoring.
Have a great week, Middlesex County, and please know that the chamber continues to work hard every day in support of this community.